Newly appointed interim city manager Dorothy Inman-Johnson, after hearing remarks made concerning her at last week’s Midway city council meeting, responded saying she had worked hard for her good reputation.

The remarks were made during the council’s discussion about doing background checks on potential city managers. It was mentioned that the city should not hire anyone who was fired from another position.

Inman-Johnson said that if someone said something about her, she wanted it to be the truth. “I will not sit by quietly and let people lie about me,” she said

She read an anonymous letter she received in which the writer stated she was a great woman during her tenure in Tallahassee, but had anyone on the council done a background check on her.

The letter went on to say that “she was forced to leave Capital Area Community Action agency for her lack of forward progress and constant argumentive relationships with her staff members.”

It further stated “she did not retire on her own; she was forced to resign by her board of directors.”

The letter asked if anyone had tried to meet with any of those board members.

In response, Inman-Johnson said she had given each council member documents showing clearly that these comments were not true.

Among those, she explained, was an email from her program manager, who she served under for 14 years, that stated the Capital Area Community Action Agency board members knew they would have to cast a wide net to replace her (when she retired).

Inman-Johnson continued reading the email, which stated from the program manager, “I had the privilege to come to know and interact regularly with Ms. Inman-Johnson.”

The email points out that Inman-Johnson gave her notice a year and half before she retired. “I notified the board and the community that I would be retiring May 21, 2012,” she said.

Inman-Johnson said she trained the person who replaced her for a month before she retired.